Sunday’s NBA nightcap is a cross-conference matchup between the Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings.
The pregame narrative: DeMar DeRozan had a tough shooting night in his first game back from injury but I expect him to rebound. On the other side, look for Cam Thomas to clear his 3-point total.
Check out my Nets vs. Kings prop picks for Nov. 24.
Nets vs. Kings prop picks
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Best Bet: DeRozan over 21.5 points (-112)
DeRozan was chugging before suffering a back injury against the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 13.
- The veteran small forward was averaging 24.8 PPG on 52.6% shooting
- He cleared this line in 8/11 games
- And scored at least 20 points in 10/11 games
His floor as a scorer is high and I won’t let Friday’s 16-point stinker get in the way of that. DeRozan played 36 minutes — which is encouraging for a player returning from injury — and took 19 shots.
The Kings are going to need him to pick up the slack and the Nets are a good team to bounce back against.
Brooklyn allows opponents to shoot 43.0% from the midrange, which ranks 21st in the NBA according to Cleaning the Glass. DeRozan has made a career of killing teams in that area of the court, so expect a strong performance tonight.
Key stat: The Nets allow the third-most points per game to small forwards, according to Fantasy Pros.
Quick pick
Thomas over 2.5 threes (-118): Thomas broke out last season as a legitimate NBA scorer and he’s kept his foot on the gas in year four.
The shooting guard is averaging career highs in points (24.2), threes (2.8), field goal percentage (45.5) and 3-point percentage (38.5).
Thomas is a bit of a streaky shooter but the volume tends to be there. He’s second to Cameron Johnson on the Nets in 3-point attempts per game (7.3) and has cleared this mark in three of his last five games.
The Kings are allowing opponents to make threes at the eighth-highest rate in basketball (37.1%) so this should be a good matchup to exploit.
Picks made at 12:52 p.m. ET 11/24/2024.
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Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.